Heatherwick's Vessel reopens with steel safety mesh wrapping its exterior

The Thomas Heatherwick-designed Vessel viewpoint in New York has reopened with steel mesh added to the exterior as a safety measure to prevent people from jumping from its platforms.

The reopening of the attraction at Hudson Yards follows a three-year closure after a 14-year-old boy became the fourth person to die of suicide at the viewpoint.

Videos and photos of the structure shared by the public on X (formerly Twitter) show wire netting in a pattern that mirrors the Vessel's honeycomb shape.

The mesh encloses the outside of the viewing platforms while still allowing views of the surroundings. However, the entire top level and some of the walkways have remained closed, according to US broadcaster CBS News.

The Vessel at @_HudsonYardsNYC reopened this morning with new safety netting after 4 people took their lives there three years ago. @1010WINS #thevesselnyc pic.twitter.com/7rEFygoWCt

— Marla Diamond (@MDiamond8) October 21, 2024

The Vessel has reopened in New York's Hudson Yards

"Vessel has attracted over three million visitors since it opened in 2019," Heatherwick's eponymous architecture practice, Heatherwick Studio, told Dezeen. "We are pleased that the structure is now reopening."

"We hope that it will continue to deliver the experience we originally envisioned as a unique place for exploration and a one-of-a-kind take on the city of New York."

A long-awaited return for a New York City attraction: the Vessel at Hudson Yards reopens TODAY after more than three years. pic.twitter.com/gOiPI7Sl4N

— NewYorkCityKopp (@newyorkcitykopp) October 21, 2024

X users shared videos of steel mesh wrapping the exterior of the Vessel

Completed in 2019, Heatherwick designed the Vessel for developer Related Companies as the centrepiece of the Hudson Yards development. Its 46-metre-high honeycomb shape is made up of 154 staircases that meet at 80 platforms.

Prior to its most recent closure in August 2021, the structure also closed earlier that year in January after a 21-year-old man jumped from it and died by suicide.

Two other suicides had previously occurred at the Vessel – a 24-year-old woman in December 2020 and a 19-year-old man in February 2019.

The viewpoint briefly reopened in May 2021 with a buddy system to prevent people from entering the attraction alone.

Last year, after two years of closure, author Matt Shaw criticised the Vessel as representing "how bad the vampiric ultra-wealthy are at making public space" in an opinion piece for Dezeen.

The top photo is by Michael Moran for Related Companies.

International helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. In the USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-8255, while in the UK the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123.

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